Australian Open, men, day 8: Nishikori survives drama, Djokovic continues - Pouille surprised
Second round of the last sixteen for men - Alexander Zverev had no chance against the cannon serves from Milos Raonic . Lucas Pouille surprisingly took Borna Coric out of the tournament. Kei Nishikori survived a five-hour drama against Pablo Carreno-Busta. Novak Djokovic must survive against Daniil Medvedev. The Australian Open: live on TV on Eurosport, on ServusTV and servus.com (Austria) and in Eurosport Player. And of course in our live scores !
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 21, 2019, 03:12 pm
Milos Raonic (16 / CAN) - Alexander Zverev (4 / GER) 6: 1, 6: 1, 7: 6 (5)
One-way street tennis in the first two sets. After a little over an hour, Zverev's back was completely against the wall. Hardly anything came together and the fifth in the world rankings smashed - almost in Baghdatis style - his racket in the Rod Laver Arena.
Raonic played almost exclusively Slice on his backhand, forcing Zverev to take the initiative, which he didn't like. "Everything went great for me today," said Raonic. "I tried not to give him speed and to play balls as uncomfortably as possible."
In the third set, Zverev moved better and fought his way into the game, but suddenly had to fend off two match balls at 4: 5. He did it too and earned a tie-break. Zverev led there twice with a mini-break, but ultimately had to admit defeat.
Novak Djokovic (1 / SRB) - Daniil Medvedev (15 / RUS) 6: 4, 6: 7 (5), 6: 2, 6: 3
The Russian outsider was able to keep up for two and a half sets, and even made a comeback in the second set after a broken hand. Then, however, Novak Djokovic prevailed thanks to his better fitness. Number one will meet Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Here is the match report.
Kei Nishikori (8 / JPN) - Pablo Carreno-Busta (23 / ESP) 6: 7 (8), 4: 6, 7: 6 (5), 6: 4, 7: 6 (8)
Although Nishikori was the better player (won five points more), Carreno-Busta secured the first set in a tight tie break. The Spaniard then got a better grip on the important points and, after about two and a half hours in the third set, was already comfortable with 3: 2, 40:15 on his own serve.
But then the number eight on the seed list struck out for a counterattack, initially struggled into a tie-break and soon turned the game into a five-set thriller. In the decision set, the Japanese struck for the first time with a break to 2-1. At 3-2, he fended off several break balls from Carreno-Busta, which his coach Michael Chang accompanied with emotional cheering gestures.
What followed was probably the most dramatic sentence of the tournament so far. Everything indicated a victory for the favorite, but "PCB" actually fought into a champions tie-break. There, the Spaniard played almost impossible balls from a defensive position and pulled away 8: 5. At the next point, there was a decisive, heated discussion with the referee, who nevertheless awarded a ball overruled by the Hawk Eye to Nishikori. The ninth in the world rankings changed his first match point just moments later, Carreno-Busta roared out of the field, the predominantly Asian fans booed him.
"I have a little lack of words. Today was the toughest match with a tricky tie-break," said Nishikori after the drama. This means that Nishikori has reached the quarter-finals of Melbourne for the fourth time since 2012, 2015 and 2016 - he has been in the round of eight of the last eight with no other major. For the third time in his career, he still turned a game after a 0-2 deficit. In the world rankings, he passes both Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem and will be ranked at least seventh.
Lucas Pouille (28 / FRA) - Borna Coric (11 / CRO) 6: 7 (4), 6: 4, 7: 5, 7: 6 (2)
In a duel between two players who could not win a single match at the Australian Open before 2019, Coric found the game better and got the first set in the tie-break after 50 minutes.
But then, surprisingly, Pouille took control. He served very well and kept getting free points with controlled serves. 83 percent of the points after the first serve went to the French, while Coric, who suffered from a thigh injury, came under pressure especially on the second (only 30 percent won).
In the third duel against Coric, Pouille went off as the first winner. Also because the Croatian often made the wrong decision in the important moments. For Wimbledon and US Open 2016, it is Pouille's third quarter-final in the Grand Slam where he plays against Milos Raonic. Coric still has to wait for his first round of the last eight.
# IMG2 #
The men's single draw at the Australian Open
Australian Open: men's quarterfinals
| Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|
| Frances Tiafoe (USA) | Rafael Nadal (2 / ESP) |
| Roberto Bautista Agut (22 / ESP) | Stefanos Tsitsipas (14 / GRE) |
| Milos Raonic (16 / CAN) | Lucas Pouille (28 / FRA) |
| Djokovic / Medvedev | Kei Nishikori (8 / JPN) |